02-10-2005, 11:32 AM
[cool][#0000ff]Excalibur is not touchy stuff. It does NOT get abraded by ice. You can fish all day without having to cut back your line beyond the nicked part. That does not happen. Same for the knots. I have fished all day with one knot on one jig, and still had a good knot after fifty or more fish.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]No matter what kind of line you use, and what kind of fishing you are doing, it is simply good practice to look at your line and run your fingers up and down it after a tough tussle. If you feel any rough edges, nicks or kinks, it is good insurance to cut the line back and retie. It is rare that I have to do that with the ExC, but stuff happens. I force myself to check periodically, just because it is good policy.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Excalibur is a copolymer, a clear monofilament. It is good to spool the whole reel with it...but it is more expensive than some of the cheaper lines. Not nearly as expensive as spooling with pure fluorocarbon, but more than your WallyWorld "quarter pounder" spools.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You don't need to "top shot" with ExC, but I do anyway...for two reasons. I fill up the first part of the spool with cheaper line...usually left over from a previous trial run on line that did not measure up to ExC. I use a good blood knot to join the base line and the ExC, and then "top shot" with 60 to 100 yards of the good stuff. The first reason is that it is less costly (not much, but a little) and the second reason is that it helps force me to respool more often. I don't end up with brittle line that breaks easily...like yours did. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Most anglers do not really use more than 30 or 40 yards of line while casting and retrieving. After several trips...with cutbacks, snags and retieing lures...your "top shot" has lost enough line that you can see the knot at the end of a long cast. That's when you make a mental note to yourself to strip off the rest of the top shot and add new line to bring the spool back to full. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you keep working the top shot (without respooling) until the knot leaves the spool on every cast, you are inviting disaster. Even a good blood knot is not 100% line strength, and it weakens over time. Combine that with the possibility that the spool filler line, beneath the ExC might be weaker, and you can lose a big fish that runs past the knot.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]That's also why "top shotting" is not a good idea for your trolling rigs. If you are long lining for wipers, you need a full spool of good high quality line, without knots or nicks. Anybody who has wrestled with wipers knows that they can abuse tackle. No need to give them any more advantages by scrimping on a couple bucks worth of line.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]No matter what kind of line you use, and what kind of fishing you are doing, it is simply good practice to look at your line and run your fingers up and down it after a tough tussle. If you feel any rough edges, nicks or kinks, it is good insurance to cut the line back and retie. It is rare that I have to do that with the ExC, but stuff happens. I force myself to check periodically, just because it is good policy.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Excalibur is a copolymer, a clear monofilament. It is good to spool the whole reel with it...but it is more expensive than some of the cheaper lines. Not nearly as expensive as spooling with pure fluorocarbon, but more than your WallyWorld "quarter pounder" spools.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]You don't need to "top shot" with ExC, but I do anyway...for two reasons. I fill up the first part of the spool with cheaper line...usually left over from a previous trial run on line that did not measure up to ExC. I use a good blood knot to join the base line and the ExC, and then "top shot" with 60 to 100 yards of the good stuff. The first reason is that it is less costly (not much, but a little) and the second reason is that it helps force me to respool more often. I don't end up with brittle line that breaks easily...like yours did. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]Most anglers do not really use more than 30 or 40 yards of line while casting and retrieving. After several trips...with cutbacks, snags and retieing lures...your "top shot" has lost enough line that you can see the knot at the end of a long cast. That's when you make a mental note to yourself to strip off the rest of the top shot and add new line to bring the spool back to full. [/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]If you keep working the top shot (without respooling) until the knot leaves the spool on every cast, you are inviting disaster. Even a good blood knot is not 100% line strength, and it weakens over time. Combine that with the possibility that the spool filler line, beneath the ExC might be weaker, and you can lose a big fish that runs past the knot.[/#0000ff]
[#0000ff][/#0000ff]
[#0000ff]That's also why "top shotting" is not a good idea for your trolling rigs. If you are long lining for wipers, you need a full spool of good high quality line, without knots or nicks. Anybody who has wrestled with wipers knows that they can abuse tackle. No need to give them any more advantages by scrimping on a couple bucks worth of line.[/#0000ff]
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